Booking.com has conducted travel research across 20,500 global travelers to uncover the barriers and anxieties which prevent people from making the most of every trip and reveal how they can move to a state of truly limitless travel. Technology has transformed travel, shrinking the world with thousands of destinations only a click away. Despite the world at their fingertips, lingering anxieties prevent many travelers from making the most of their trips.

The research reveals a significant two thirds (63%) of today’s travelers don’t believe they are making the most of their travel opportunities. And it shows that despite a world of opportunities one in five people (20%) have never felt limitless on vacation and one in 10 (10%) have only ever felt limitless once.

Nevertheless there is a strong desire to be a “limitless traveler”: Someone who does not feel held back from getting the most out of travel, who embraces the new and different and is not afraid to push the boundaries when it comes to travelling. Almost half (44%) of people worldwide expressing that aspiration and over three quarters (78%) wanting to make the most of every travel experience and travel with no regrets.

The Booking.com travel research also shows almost two thirds (62%) of people want to experience new cultures, over half (51%) want to taste local delicacies, over a third (39%) are keen to experience staying somewhere new and a third (33%) want to embrace meeting new people whilst travelling, which Booking.com can help travelers unlock in new places.

Booking.com travel research

Travel research: Overcoming travel trepidations

A common worry is the language barrier, as over a quarter (28%) of respondents agree this can hold them back from planning a trip and one in five (20%) are nervous about getting lost without speaking the local language. Travelers believe they are being held back by struggles to find accommodation (34%) and over a quarter feel anxious about unfamiliar situations when travelling (26%).

When asked what would remove travel barriers and anxieties for future trips the top factors respondents called out were great accommodation options (37%), positive reviews from other travelers (35%), being able to ask questions and directions in the local language (26% and 23%), and being able to order their favorite food (22%).

Travel research: Technology can help overcome concerns…

Technology can help overcome these concerns as over half (52%) of travelers admit to using technology frequently while travelling. That’s why Booking.com is piloting a unique partnership in the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia with ili, the world’s fastest offline translation device.

Ili is the world’s fastest offline translator designed for travelers. It can translate your words into other languages in as little as 0.2 seconds without an internet connection. It’s simple to use, all you need to do is press the button and speak into it.

Developed by Logbar, a Japanese startup, ili has been used by over 50,000 travelers around the world. ili currently translates from English to Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese. Updates will be available in the near future.

Booking.com travel research

Travel research: Pushing the limits

One in two (55%) travelers think the best thing about travel is getting outside their comfort zone, confirming that they want more unique travel experiences to push their travel limits. The top getaways which travelers haven’t done before because they are too afraid, but would love to try one day include:

Volunteering trip (39%)

Gourmet adventure (38%)

Mystery trip (38%)

Sabbatical trip (36%)

Ancestry trip to find out about their heritage (36%)

In addition the top five trips that people have already been on and would like to go on again, as they allow them to experience travel to the fullest, are:

Road trip (54%)

Last minute trip (38%)

Solo trip (34%)

Long distance train journey (32%)

Backpacking or hiking trip (30%)

Traveling without limits isn’t confined to the younger generation as although over a quarter (27%) of Generation Z (18 to 24 year olds) intend to take a road trip, Baby Boomers (55 to 64 year olds) are looking to get more adventurous with the trips they take and a fifth (20%) intend to go on a backpacking or hiking trip and one in five (18%) are planning a road trip. There is also a surge in solo travel to push limits with two fifths (40%) of global Baby Boomers having taken a solo trip in the last year, and a further fifth (21%) planning to take one in the future.

Booking.com has conducted travel research across 20,500 global travelers to uncover the barriers and anxieties which prevent people from making the most of every trip and reveal how they can move to a state of truly limitless travel. Technology has transformed travel, shrinking the world with thousands of destinations only a click away. Despite the world at their fingertips, lingering anxieties prevent many travelers from making the most of their trips.